Wrist, elbow, shoulder, and balance training device for angler/athletes

ABSTRACT

A sport specific conditioning apparatus and method for anglers includes a handle configured to simulate a casting fishing rod handle connected to one or more resistance bands. The handle includes a rear grip region, a reel seat region, and a fore grip region, wherein a length of lever from said reel seat region to an end of said fore grip region ranges from 10 to 16 inches. The connector at the top of the handle permits rotation about an axis of said handle when said connector is connected to one or more resistance bands. With the resistance bands attached, the user performs one or more movements which simulate casting or flipping with said handle connected to one or more resistance bands.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 61/056,777 filed May 28, 2008, and the complete contents of that application is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention pertains to training devices for athletes and, more particularly, to a training device and method for use to assist in improving the performance through strength and endurance in the joints and muscles used by angler/athletes. By using overload principles to the actual movements used in their sport to condition against possible overuse issues in the future, the movements themselves, with the application of appropriate resistance, can be used to prepare for the competitive demands these athletes face.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Beginning with The Bassmaster Classic at Lay Lake in 2007, I began a heartrate telemetry research project. One of the focuses of the project was to verify or disprove the athletic element of the sport of professional bass fishing at the highest levels. Many of the athletes and their families had felt that their “sport” was misunderstood and underappreciated by the general public in terms of perception. Another focus was to quantify the caloric need created by the competitive angling profession in competition with the goal of attempting to fuel the activity more accurately for the purpose of improving results, being safer (decision making) and having more energy left at the end of a competitive day, or end of a competition.

Most people likely think of fishing as sitting on a bank, a dock, or a boat watching a bobber or waiting for a fish to bite. In fact most of the professionals will present bait, by casting, pitching, flipping or some variation of these techniques, several thousand times a day. There is a huge disconnect between perception, and the reality, of the sport.

I have used heartrate telemetry (monitors and transmitters) for many years in the execution of my job as a club consultant, performance nutrition coach, and trainer to both athletes and non-athletes. Heartrate was an obvious choice to determine the effort levels and caloric expenditure resulting from the rigors of fishing at the highest competitive levels. From my observations during the 2007 Season, I determined that the average day on the water for a professional angler/athlete, competing at this level, involved the burning of an average of 3600 calories per day. These results were determined by monitoring athletes competing for more than 200 days of competition.

As the project unfolded, the athletes and their families began to refer to a series of overuse injuries that they either had experienced, or were afraid of developing. The main subjects of these conversations and concerns were: 1. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and related wrist conditions; 2. Tennis Elbow and other tendonitis related issues in the forearm, bicep, and triceps insertions; 3. Shoulder issues related to overuse from casting; and 4. Foot, ankle, knee and hip issues from continued standing, in an unstable environment, in the process of maintaining balance on a moving deck, mostly standing on one leg, as the other leg is used to direct the boat through the use of a trolling motor.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the invention to provide a device for sport specific conditioning which mimics a fishing rod handle.

It is another object of the invention to provide a sport specific conditioning method which employs a fishing rod handle and resistance element to address concerns arising in competitive angling including carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, shoulder injuries, and foot, ankle, knee and hip injuries. Neither the device, nor the programming that utilizes it, are intended to treat these injuries. They will be utilized to avoid these conditions, if possible, and cannot replace of substitute for medical treatment of these conditions.

According to the invention, a sport specific conditioning apparatus which is based on a fishing rod handle is connected to one or more resistance bands. Once attached to the bands, the user performs a series of pitching, flipping, and other casting movements. The attachment of the origin of the bands is flexible to allow for variation of movements. Moving the origin is necessary to cover all the possible planes of movement for both casting and hook sets. The position of the user's feet is varied during the exercises to simulate the different conditions on the deck of a moving boat. It is recommended that much or all of the work is done on one leg, both to simulate the competitive environment (trolling motor use), and to condition the stabilizers in the knee, ankle, and hip on the side used, through overload.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a fishing rod handle sport specific conditioning apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of an alternative fishing rod handle sport specific conditioning apparatus;

FIGS. 3A-D are schematic drawings illustrating flipping, pitching, casting, and hook set movements being performed with an apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 or 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an example of an apparatus 10 according to the present invention. The apparatus is preferably in the form of a fishing rod handle in the form of a casting grip. It will have a rear grip 12 which can be made of cork, rubber or other suitable material with a butt cap 14; a simulated reel seat region 16, and a fore grip region 18. Experiments have shown that the ideal length of the lever ranges from 10 to 16 inches, as is indicated by dashed line A-A. At the top of the apparatus 10 is a connector 20, which may take the form of an eye bolt and one or more linkers. The connector 20 should permit connection to one or more resistance bands 22, and should permit the apparatus 10 to be rotated about relative to the resistance bands 22 so that casting movements such as flipping and casting can be simulated against the resistance provided by the resistance bands 22.

FIG. 2 shows an alternative embodiment to FIG. 1 where the handle is more representative of a casting rod handle. In FIG. 2, the apparatus has a butt grip A, reel seat B, fore grip C, rod length D, and an attachment device E for one or more resistance bands. The rod length D corresponds to line A-A in FIG. 1, and will range from 10 to 16 inches.

The device that I have designed is for conditioning. That is, the device is used to help prevent overuse injuries by minimizing the impact of the repetitive movements necessary to perform well in this sport (professional fishing). It allows for resistance to be used so that strength, and local muscular endurance will be improved in the muscle groups involved in forearm, wrist, and hand, thereby forcing adaptations through the application of overload principle, by using the device through a series of movements designed to duplicate the “casting” movements (pitching, flipping, etc). Hook sets are also addressed.

As will be discussed below in more detail with respect to FIGS. 3A-D, in addition to the movements which mimic the actual use of the muscles and joints we are trying to condition, I am able to use the device to apply negative (eccentric) overload in a wide variety of arcs which can be easily individualized by moving the attachment of the origin point. Specifically to move the attachment point (origin) higher, lower, further in, or further out, in relation to the shoulder and trunk. This helps to force the adaptation in strength and local muscular endurance in a shorter time and in a more balanced way.

Exercises for the stabilizers (tendons, ligaments, connective tissue) in the ankle, knee, and hip are performed through the use of overload by way of performing the movements on one leg. This also provides excellent balance work. The apparatus of FIG. 1 or 2 and methods shown in FIGS. 3A-D includes the flexibility necessary to individualize the movements to a specific client.

The device is built specifically to direct the impact to the desired areas. Experimentation was necessary to find the proper design to accomplish this goal. The primary variable was the length of the device that is above the wrist. That variable is used to increase impact to the target muscle groups and joints by increasing length above the reel seat to increase impact. As noted above, the ideal length of lever (above the reel) can vary from 10 to 16 inches. The factors to be considered are clients frame size, thickness and musculature of the wrist and forearm, local muscular endurance in the impacted areas, strength in the impacted areas, planes of movement specific to the individual. The device needs to be of an appropriate length in terms of providing the correct amount of overload, particularly at the wrist.

The need for this intervention is created by a typical overuse breakdown of the kinetic chain from hand and wrist through forearm and elbow then upper arm and shoulder. In some cases further impact can be seen in back issues, as well as the obvious, wrists, forearms, elbows, biceps, tendonitis and shoulder problems.

Simply put, when the professional anglers are fresh in the morning as they begin their competitive day, the hand and wrist do the work of casting, pitching, flipping, and casting in a variety of methods. This is the best case in terms of both results (accuracy, etc.) and overall integrity of the athletic movements themselves, mentioned above.

As fatigue sets in, both from the overuse itself and from the overall fatigue the competitive environment creates, the integrity of the movements breaks down even more. As this progresses over days, weeks, months, damage is done, worked through, not dealt with due to lack of time, competitive demands, sponsor commitments and more, and in many cases continues through the off season.

For the purpose of conditioning the areas involved, I have designed a progressive resistance training protocol and a device that safely addresses the need to develop more strength and local muscular endurance through the entire area of use. Flexibility is also addressed through the training and stressed as a necessary component of improvement for the athletes. Balance is addressed, and is accomplished through overload work on each leg individually. Stabilizers in the ankle, knee and hip are recruited through this process.

In order to duplicate the movements as realistically as possible, we began with the rod handle that the individual themselves use. The type and handle length and type should be based on the type the individual uses.

Based on the choices of the anglers as to length, action, lure weight, line weight, and casting methods, a decision is made to determine the length of the device to be used. In most cases it has been from 10 to 16 inches above the reel seat. It is possible that exceptionally long or short limbed individuals might fall outside these parameters.

Both casting and hook setting sequences are performed. The entire progression, including stretching to begin, is usually between 20 and 25 minutes. For exemplary purposes, FIG. 3A shows forward and backward across the body movements. Forward movements where the device A (a device which has the features of FIG. 1 or 2) pulls one or more resistance bands B that are anchored at origin c across the body simulates a side arm cast. Moving the device A back to its starting point is typically down more slowly and this provides for eccentric overload. The figure in FIG. 3A is depicted with his or her right leg up. As noted above, executing the movements shown in FIG. 3A with a leg raised helps train and work the stabilizers and serves to simulate the user's position in a competition. FIG. 3B shows an exercise which simulates a hook set (the procedure an angler performs when setting a hook in the fish). The upward pull of the device A against a resistance band B having a low point of origin is a hook set motion, while the slow, downward returning movement provides eccentric overload to the same muscles. Like FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B depicts the person with his or her leg bent at the knee in order to provide for balance exercises and to simulate the competitive environment. FIG. 3C shows an alternative hook set simulation to that shown in FIG. 3B. In particular, the device A in FIG. 3C is pulled upward to the opposite side of the body compared to the motion shown in FIG. 3B. Upward and downward movements simulate, respectively, hook set motions and eccentric training motions. FIG. 3C also shows that the point of origin C can be moved upward. When the origin C is moved upward, the same exercise movements simulate casting. FIG. 3D shows another casting simulation exercise. In FIG. 3D, the point of origin C is above the user's head. Downward movements of the device A against the resistance of band B simulate casting, while slower, upward movements along the same arc provide for an eccentric overload.

Resistance bands are used rather than a weight stack or constant (free) weight. In this way the resistance can be progressed safely, at the level appropriate for the individual, both through the bands themselves and foot position relative to the insertion point of the bands, either closer to, or farther from, the attachment. Although they can be replaced with stronger bands, it is likely that the distance from the attachment point is all the adjustment necessary for the progression to be effective.

While the invention has been described in terms of its preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 

1. A sport specific conditioning apparatus for anglers, comprising: a handle configured to simulate a casting fishing rod handle and including a rear grip region, a reel seat region, and a fore grip region, wherein a length of lever from said reel seat region to an end of said fore grip region ranges from 10 to 16 inches; and a connector positioned at an end of said handle above said fore grip region, wherein said connector is connectable to one or more resistance bands, and wherein said connector permits rotation about an axis of said handle when said connector is connected to one or more resistance bands.
 2. A method of sport specific conditioning for an angle, comprising the steps of: connecting a handle configured to simulate a casting fishing rod handle and including a rear grip region, a reel seat region, and a fore grip region, wherein a length of lever from said reel seat region to an end of said fore grip region ranges from 10 to 16 inches to one or more resistance bands using a connector positioned at an end of said handle above said fore grip region, wherein said connector permits rotation about an axis of said handle when said connector is connected to one or more resistance bands; and performing one or more movements which simulate casting or flipping with said handle connected to one or more resistance bands. 